As we’ve already reported, Far Cry 5 looks and runs incredibly well on the PC platform. However, it appears that the game’s physics have been severely downscaled compared to Far Cry 2; a game that was released ten years ago on platforms that should – theoretically – be less powerful than current-gen systems.
YouTube’s ‘Crowbcat’ has shared a comparison video and right from the start we can see that the fire effects look actually better in Far Cry 2. In Far Cry 2, both the grass and the tree leaves get burned whereas in Far Cry 5 everything all assets remain the same.
In Far Cry 5, only the tall grass is bendable. In Far Cry 2, however, players can bend lots of bushes. Not only that, but players can also cut the trees by shooting at them, something that is not happening at all in Far Cry 5. Far Cry 2 feels more like a better version of Crysis – regarding physics – whereas Far Cry 5 feels less interactive. Explosions from grenades are not that wow-ish, players can’t destroy wooden shacks. Moreover, while driving, you can bend bushes and completely cut them if you are driving fast in Far Cry 2. In Far Cry 5, all bushes are completely destroyed as soon as your car touches them.
Environmental destruction is also limited in Far Cry 5. Players can’t destroy lights like they did in Far Cry 2 and its grass behaves almost similarly to NVIDIA’s Turf Effects. Yeap, while NVIDIA is offering a nice effect, a similar effect was achieved in Far Cry 2 without requiring such a library.
God rays are also more pronounced in Far Cry 2, though this could be a simple artistic choice and nothing more. The cloud technology, on the other hand, is way better in Far Cry 2 (though we should note that there are some cloud shadows in Far Cry 5 that are not present in Far Cry 2). Cars also get dirtier in Far Cry 2 the longer you drive them.
Now this does not mean that visually Far Cry 2 looks better. Far Cry 5 has way richer environments, better textures, more detailed characters and more. However, it does appear that Far Cry 2 is more advanced in some areas than Far Cry 5. I mean seriously, there is no excuse for the cloud dowgrade. Or should I say it pays more attention to smaller details. Ironically, both of these games use the Dunia Engine (though Far Cry 5 uses a newer version of it that should, theoretically, be able to offer more advanced features than those in Far Cry 2).
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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